BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS

King Penguins baby joy brings the p-p-pitter patter of tiny feet to Birdland.

Although only its proud parents could love it, this rather ugly bundle is a triumph for Britains only breeding colony of King Penguins as its the first one born after over five years of trying at the Gloucestshire animal park.

Keepers now have to rear the chick by hand, monitoring it 24 hours a day to ensure it makes it through to adulthood.

They feed it using a bottle full of fish that has been liquidised in a blender to replicate the food it would be given by its parents in the wild.

And despite being native to freezing Antarctic climes, the vulnerable chick has not yet developed feathers so it is kept in an incubator to keep it warm while it grows.